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Soaring numbers of children are being admitted to hospital suffering from anxiety, official figures show.

NHS data shows the number of young patients being treated on hospital wards has risen by 42 per cent in just one year, with thousands of pre-teen children receiving such a diagnosis.

Experts said the figures were “deeply alarming,” reflecting a generation under pressure from “around the clock” social media, fuelling bullying, insecurity and concern about body image.

In the last five years, cases have tripled, the figures show.

The NSPCC last night warned that their Childline service has seen a 35 per cent rise in calls about anxiety from children in just twelve months.

The charity said children and teenagers were becoming increasingly distressed by disturbing events they saw on social networking sites, as well as by world events such as Brexit, the US election and troubles in the Middle East.

The new figures show that in 2015/16, more than 10,000 patients under the age of 18 were admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of anxiety.

Rising numbers of children and teenagers are struggling to cope, charities said Credit:
PA

They include almost 2,500 children who were 12 and under, with more than 200 cases involving children aged four and five, as well as 92 diagnoses of children aged three or less.

Girls were twice as likely as boys to be diagnosed with the condition, with 7,314 cases among females under 18s compared with 3,184 among boys and young men.

Children and young people face a huge range of pressures, including stress at school, body image issues, bullying on and offline, around-the-clock social media and uncertain job prospectsDr Marc Bush, chief policy advisor at YoungMinds

The figures from NHS Digital represent hospital inpatients who were given a primary or secondary diagnosis of anxiety.

In total, there were 10,499 such cases in 2015/16 - a rise of 42 per cent on the 7,375 cases the year before - and a tripling from the 3,047 cases recorded five years before. ​

Research shows girls 'binge' on social media for longer periods than boysCredit:
Chris Jackson/ Getty

It follows warnings of rising numbers of children suffering deep psychological problems, with a steep rise in self harm among children and young people.

Dr Marc Bush, chief policy advisor at charity YoungMinds said: “The sharp rise in the number of children being treated in hospital for anxiety is deeply alarming.

“We know from our research that children and young people face a huge range of pressures, including stress at school, body image issues, bullying on and offline, around-the-clock social media and uncertain job prospects.”

He called for schools to do more to prioritise “wellbeing” of children, not just exam results.

John Cameron, head of NPSCC helplines said: “We are seeing an increasing number of children and young people being struck down by anxiety, with causes ranging from body image problems, cyber-bullying, the pressures to do well at school and issues in the family home.

“These problems are often impacted by a need to keep up with friends and to have the perfect life; and the 24/7 nature of technology means that young people can never escape this pressure.

The charity’s figures show the number of children and young people contacting the NSPCC’s Childline about anxiety rose by 35 per cent during 2015/16, with a total of 11,706 calls.

More recent figures show a continuing surge in calls, with around 1,100 such contacts a month.

The charity said it had received significant numbers of calls in which children said they worried about wars and the plight of children around the world after seeing images of refugees being pulled from bomb-damaged homes.

“Sufferers cited world affairs such as Brexit, troubles in the Middle East and the US election, as well as disturbing events they saw in the media and on social networking sites as being the source of their worries,” said Mr Cameron.